Monday, February 18, 2013

To Maraud Once More

Near the end of the Marvel Two-In-One title, there was a story where the Thing was recuperating in a hospital from injuries sustained during two particularly brutal battles. But along with the visits Ben Grimm received from his many comrades-in-arms, there also came calling a number of villains who saw a golden opportunity to take down one of Marvel's charter heroes while he was vulnerable to attack.

The Thing, of course, had no shortage of defenders willing to fight to keep him from harm, which also included a crusty nurse who wasn't about to brook any breach of hospital rules by anyone:

Now, I ask you: given this opportunity for notoreity available to any small-time villain looking for a fast track into the big leagues, what loser do you think is going to try to seize the day here and regain face?

THAT'S RIGHT, IT'S THE RETURN OF:

Yes, once again, Fabian Stankowicz unleashes his identity as the deadly Mechano-Marauder--which, due to either a slip of the writer's pen or an attempt by Fabian to wipe away his association with past defeats, is rechristened the "Mecho-Marauder" for his third time at bat. Unfortunately for Fabian, one of the Thing's friends and visitors is the somewhat more notorious Spider-Man, who encounters the Marauder before he even sets one foot in the hospital:

Fabian is probably the perfect example of John Steinbeck's paraphrased line, "The best-laid plans... Often go awry," though his plans are mapped out in a more general sense than meticulously laid out; yet thorough or not, they certainly have a habit of going awry, since they often hinge on the hasty presumption of his foe's level of resistance. Which explains why Fabian sounds so panicked at having to fight Spider-Man rather than the bed-ridden Thing:

And so we're forced to say a quick adieu to the "Mecho-Marauder":

But even though Fabian is left contained and swinging in a thick coating of webbing, he's no doubt vowing to return with a more foolproof plan. Maybe someone should tell him at this point just who that fool is turning out to be.